Vacancy rates for office buildings in downtown Ottawa have reached an all-time high, according to a recent report. Commercial real estate company CBRE has been measuring commercial real estate use across the country since 1996.
In a recent report, CBRE found vacancy in downtown Ottawa had jumped from 13.2 per cent in the previous financial quarter to 15.1 per cent in the latest — the city's highest rate on record. Louis Karam, managing director of CBRE Ottawa, said the record is noteworthy but not necessarily cause for alarm.
Karam said businesses in the city are still seeing more occupancy than most major Canadian cities. The report showed Ottawa is below the national average of 18.9 per cent vacancy. Its vacancy rate is also behind Toronto at 15.8 per cent and Calgary at 31.5 per cent.
On a national scale, the report cited a mix of recent economic changes as reasons for why businesses are reducing the size of their downtown offices or commercial footprints.
Ottawa is facing its own unique challenges affecting commercial real estate downtown. Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), which manages real estate for the federal government and federal agencies, is the largest commercial tenant in Ottawa.
Government announced a 50 per cent reduction target as part of a 10-year plan, in light of hybrid-work models. Federal public works department aims to cut up to half its office space. The effort will reduce rent expenditures and gather income from sales of existing properties. But, the reductions will take place over a long period and expects the flagging tech sector to rebound in that time.
